2816 Tasting Notes

88
drank Silver Needle White by Mandala Tea
2816 tasting notes

Sipdown!
Good that I am finishing a few things off recently because my tea collection is still massive. All I want to do is sit around this weekend and drink tea!

This is a lovely silver needle white. I wouldn’t hesitate to get more of this someday. The almond notes are really wonderful this morning and I usually find it to be very relaxing. Hope everyone is having a good weekend so far :)

Preparation
185 °F / 85 °C 3 min, 0 sec
Kirkoneill1988

my weekend was great :D my 27th birthday was on Sunday.

TeaBrat

Happy birthday!

Kirkoneill1988

thankyou :D

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67

well, I have gone through a whole box of this and I’m surprised as I’ve only had it for a few months. A tasty herbal tisane for the price, I mostly drink it for the health benefits associated with ginger. It also makes a nice dessert tea when you mix it with soymilk.

I haven’t been on Steepster as much lately now that I’m working full time. especially due to the fact that I’m trying to drink down my stash instead of buying more. I have a lot of tea. :-P

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec
gmathis

Steepster traffic always seems to lighten up in spring and summer…that’s the time of year I try to start drinking up the scraps and using them for iced tea…

TeaBrat

I am going to try not to buy any for the next few months. Only exception might be some shincha and some darjeeling… :)

gmathis

(Yeah, listen to me talking the big talk. I have birthday gift money squirreled away for upcoming trip to shopping venue with both Savoy Tea Company and a Fresh Market…) I have, however, made it to the bottom of three packets this week and emptied the last leaves into the Junkyard Tea Jar.

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93
drank Yunnan Gold by Teance
2816 tasting notes

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68

R.I.P. Steven Smith…

I just noticed this in my cupboard again and thought I should try it. I’ve had it for a couple of years and it’s a tea I rarely crave due to the strong licorice and mint combo. Somehow it seemed appropriate today because the weather we are having is gray and dreary here in San Francisco. Maybe I will get around to finishing this off sometime in the current decade, lol. Reminds me of Candy Cane Lane but really on the STRONG side. Only recommended if you like the combination of licorice and minty…

Preparation
Boiling 5 min, 0 sec

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Hmm, this sounds like something I would like but somehow I am not loving this particular tea. It is flavorful but also on the tobacco/bitter side of things, at least when you steep it for 2 minutes. So maybe the answer is to gong fu it. I hope I find some way to enjoy it as I now have 50g. Not leaving a rating for now…

Preparation
205 °F / 96 °C 2 min, 0 sec
boychik

i gongfu it only. and maybe 200F is better. thinner more delicate leaves i brew at lower temp ;)

TeaBrat

Thanks, I will try that :))

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87
drank Da Hong Pao by The Tao of Tea
2816 tasting notes

Sipdown! I am finally done with this one, have probably had it for 3 years now. This is impossible to mess up, it’s good when you gong fu it and today I steeped it Western style. I don’t think will get bitter no matter what you do. Just a really pleasant, roasted fruity flavor and very earthy. This is not the best DHP I have ever had but it is certainly nice this afternoon.

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90

Today was a super stressful day and when I left the office I was practically ready to explode, oh the things we have to do just to get a paycheck! Anyway I got this with my last Tao Tea Leaf order and really just wanted to try it… I love the aroma when I put my nose in the bag. Just like roasted coconut! I’ve had a few coconut oolongs in the past and have enjoyed them. This one is good too, what a yummy flavored bao zhong.

The coconut flavor is on the fresh and natural side, not fakey like the coconut oolong from David’s Tea. It’s lightly vegetal and buttery also. Overall a very enjoyable oolong and one I’m glad I ordered. I only hope it doesn’t keep me awake tonight…. 8:30 pm is a bit late for me to be drinking tea but it was such an exhausting day, hopefully I pop right into bed.

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 2 min, 0 sec 1 tsp 8 OZ / 236 ML
Kirkoneill1988

i shall try this someday

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80

A good everyday tea and tuos are nice for the office, although I haven’t had these in a few years it seems. I don’t think Red Blossom even sells these anymore.

I steeped it for around 1 minute at 190f or so water. These are pretty mellow, not that bitter. Have an apple flavor with some woodsy and vegetal notes. It yields a fairly pleasant cuppa that isn’t too fussy or aggressive. Good to see that these are aging well.

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77

My after lunch tea here… not like I don’t have enough teas from home to try, but I didn’t get out of the house early enough to even wash my hair, much less think about what teas to bring in to my temp job.

Most cherry teas are disappointing because they taste so medicinal. That’s sad to me especially as cherries are one of my favorite fruits! (I like frozen cherries on my oatmeal or just as a dessert). This has a very authentic, natural cherry aroma.

As for the flavor, well… it’s very nice. The Taiwanese green tea is light and vegetal and reminds me of a Chinese green tea. Overall the cherry flavor is present but subtle and there is a bit of a flowery component as well. This was much better than I thought it would be, but I’m not sure I love it. The Moroccan Mint from the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is outstanding though. This is nice for an afternoon cuppa but wouldn’t go on a list of my favorites. I think the best way to desribe this is “nice” but not outstanding.

Preparation
180 °F / 82 °C 4 min, 0 sec
ashmanra

Have you had Cherry Blossom Green from Harney? I thought the cherry flavor was light when I first tried, but as my palate grew a bit I found that I enjoyed it a lot. The downside is that I want loose leaf, and you have to buy a pound to get it loose.

TeaBrat

I don’t think I have, will have to check it out someday!

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96

I hope I am not making a mistake by trying to drink this tea so late in the day. It’s almost 5 pm and that is pretty late for me and sheng but I really wanted to try it. I have 2 other mini bricks from Douji that are around 100g but this is a 250g brick I purchased from China Cha Do for $34.99.

Definitely a nice sheng puerh, very light on the bitterness if that is not your thing. I’m doing short steeps of around 15 seconds in the yixing and getting a deep yellow tea liquor. The tea is smooth and thick and is mostly on the woodsy/sweeter side with notes of citrus. I am getting lemon, orange and anise. The bitterness snuck up on me a little bit after I had about 4 steeps. There is no smoke in this tea either. I do like smoky young shengs sometimes but it’s nice to have some that aren’t.

I played around with the water temp on this and found that steeping it at 190f or so yielded good results for me and brought out the sweet, fruity flavor. If you’ve never had Douji and you like raw puerh I would recommend giving this a try. The mildness of this has made it a really good afternoon tea. It is delicious. I would definitely like to try more Doujis in the future!

Preparation
190 °F / 87 °C 0 min, 15 sec

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Bio

My profile pic is of a pink dahlia at Golden Gate Park.

Hobbies include: tea, making art, animals, vegan things, buddhism, nature, creativity, books, writing, cooking, meditation, yoga.

I am a fan of many different teas but my favorites are blacks and oolongs, chai, also like darjeeling and pu-erh. I’n always learning and expanding my horizons!

Dislikes include: bergamot, jasmine, highly tannic or bitter teas, overly judgmental and bitter people. :)

Live in San Francisco, I’m a SINK (single income, no kids) and love the urban life, but traveling out to the middle of nowhere is always fun too.

I tend to not drink things I know I will hate so a lot of my tea ratings are on the higher side. Here’s my rating system, sorta

95-100 I love this tea and would like to keep it around

94-90 An excellent tea which I may or may not repurchase

89-80 Pretty good, above average

79-70 Acceptable

69-60 Mundane – Will probably drink it if I have it

59-50 Ick

49 and below Nasty

Location

San Frandisco

Website

http://sanfrantea.teatra.de

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